Dills Indoor headlines ITA Kick-Off Weekend

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – ITA Kick-Off Weekend will begin at the Dills Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday hosted by the 14th-ranked University of Arkansas women’s tennis team.

“Hosting this weekend’s event is obviously a big thrill for our players and staff,” said Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty. “Advancing through the weekend to the Sweet Sixteen in Wisconsin is of course every team’s goal.”.

Along with the Razorbacks (2-0), No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 44 Pepperdine and 58th-ranked Oregon will all be competing in the event on Saturday and Sunday.

The Hogs will play the Ducks at approximately 2 p.m. following the 10 a.m. match between the Irish and Waves.

“It’s really one of the best fields out of the sixteen host sites,” Hegarty said. “All four teams bring a lot to the table and we are excited to play hard and get a lot better this weekend.”

Arkansas will enjoy home-court advantage in hopes to qualify for the ITA Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisconsin for the second-consecutive year. The tournament is a four team bracket with Saturday’s winners facing off Sunday at 2 p.m. for the right to advance to the top 16. The Hogs are coming off a weekend sweep against St. Louis and No. 34 Tulsa.

“Only sixteen teams have the opportunity to do it at home so we want to do everything possible to take advantage of this opportunity,” Hegarty said.

On an individual note, second-ranked Aurelija Miseviciute needs only two wins to tie the all-time singles win mark at Arkansas with 107.

Live stats will be available for all matches on Saturday and Sunday, while results can be found on ARKANSASRAZORBACKS.COM.